After peritumoral injection, IFNβ-FTH-MSCs appeared as hypointense signals on MRI, which gradually diminished but remained visible until 11 days. Compared with other administration routes, only peritumoral injection of IFNβ-FTH-MSCs showed a remarkable inhibition on the glioma growth. Nearly 30% of IFNβ-FTH-MSCs survived up to 11 days after peritumoral injection, while most of IFNβ-FTH-MSCs injected via other routes died within 11 days. IFNβ-FTH-MSCs grafted peritumorally secreted IFNβ persistently, leading to pronounced Batf3+ dendritic cells and CD8+ T lymphocyte infiltration within the glioma. CONCLUSIONS MSCs can be used as cellular vehicles of IFNβ to treat malignant glioma effectively via peritumoral injection. © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.Cacao (Theobroma cacao L.), the source of chocolate, is one of the most important commodity products worldwide that helps improve the economic livelihood of farmers. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/LY2603618-IC-83.html Diseases like frosty pod rot caused by Moniliophthora roreri and witches' broom caused by Moniliophthora perniciosa limit the cacao productivity, this can be solved by using resistant varieties. In the current study, we sequenced 229 cacao accessions using genotyping-by-sequencing to examine the genetic diversity and population structure employing 9,003 and 8,131 single nucleotide polymorphisms recovered by mapping against two cacao genomes (Criollo B97-61/B2 v2 and Matina 1-6 v1.1). In the phenotypic evaluation, three promising accessions for productivity and 10 with good tolerance to the frosty pod rot and witches' broom diseases were found. A genome-wide association study was performed on 102 accessions, discovering two genes associated with productivity and seven to disease resistance. The results enriched the knowledge of the genetic regions associated with important cacao traits that can have significant implications for conservation and breeding strategies like marker-assisted selection. Copyright © The Author(s) 2020. Published by the Genetics Society of America.BACKGROUND In recent years, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Department of Family Medicine has integrated a quality assurance (QA) project as a required component of their 5-week medical student clerkship. This project requires each student to conduct a QA study at an assigned family practice and discuss the results with their preceptor. The aim of this study was to determine if sequential medical student QA projects impact physician readiness to improve guideline adherence over time. METHODS A retrospective analysis of student reports was conducted to determine if physician readiness to improve compliance improved post implementation of the QA project using James Prochaska's Transtheoretical Model of Behavioral Change. Fisher's exact test or the χ2 test were used as applicable to compare the change in results. RESULTS In academic year 2015-2016, there were 11 (6%) instances where physicians were precontemplating on change, 43 (24%) instances where physicians were contemplating, 101 (57%) instances where physicians were preparing to make change, 18 (10%) instances where physicians were acting, and 4 (2%) of instances where a physician were maintaining previous changes. The following year, the numbers were 15 (8%), 38 (21%), 82 (46%), 34 (19%) and 11 (6%), respectively. There were increases of physicians in stages of precontemplation (p=0.047), action (p=0.02) and maintenance (p=0.047), a decrease in physicians that were in the stage of preparation (p=0.05) and no significant change in the instances they were in a stage of contemplation (p=0.60). CONCLUSION Student QA projects appear to leverage physician readiness to improve guideline adherence. Future studies will determine if raising awareness through these clerkship projects results in practice behavioural change. © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.BACKGROUND/AIMS To investigate the yearly change of real-world outcomes for best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) after 2-year clinical intervention for treatment-naïve diabetic macular oedema (DMO). METHODS Retrospective analysis of aggregated, longitudinal medical records obtained from 27 retina specialised institutions in Japan from Survey of Treatment for DMO database. A total of 2049 treatment-naïve centre involving DMO eyes of which the initial intervention started between 2010 and 2015, and had been followed for 2 years, were eligible. As interventions, antivascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents, local corticosteroids, macular photocoagulation and vitrectomy were defined. In each eye, baseline and final BCVA, the number of each intervention for 2 years was extracted. Each eye was classified by starting year of interventional treatment. RESULTS Although baseline BCVA did not change by year, 2-year improvement of BCVA had been increased, and reached to +6.5 letters in the latest term. There is little difference among starting year about proportions of eyes which BCVA gained &gt;15 letters, in contrast to those which lost &gt;15 letters were decreased by year. The proportion of eyes receiving anti-VEGF therapy was dramatically increased, while those receiving the other therapies were gradually decreased. The proportion of eyes which maintained socially good vision of BCVA&gt;20/40 has been increased and reached to 59.0% in the latest term. CONCLUSION For recent years, treatment patterns for DMO have been gradually but certainly changed; as a result, better visual gain, suppression of worsened eyes and better final BCVA have been obtained. Anti-VEGF therapy has become the first-line therapy and its injection frequency has been increasing. © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) have been shown to play critical roles in many diseases, including esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Recent studies have reported that some lncRNA encode functional micropeptides. However, the association between ESCC and micropeptides encoded by lncRNA remains largely unknown. In this study, we characterized a Y-linked lncRNA, LINC00278, which was downregulated in male ESCC. LINC00278 encoded a Yin Yang 1 (YY1)-binding micropeptide, designated YY1BM. YY1BM was involved in the ESCC progression and inhibited the interaction between YY1 and androgen receptor (AR), which in turn decreased expression of eEF2K through the AR signaling pathway. Downregulation of YY1BM significantly upregulated eEF2K expression and inhibited apoptosis, thus conferring ESCC cells more adaptive to nutrient deprivation. Cigarette smoking decreased m6A modification of LINC00278 and YY1BM translation. In conclusion, these results provide a novel mechanistic link between cigarette smoking and AR signaling in male ESCC progression.